Meeting scheduled for agencies that help addicted

MANSFIELD – Starfish Project of Richland County is asking any Christian-based entity that provides counseling or other forms of assistance to drug or alcohol abusers and their families to attend a meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 18 at Grace Brethren Church of Lexington, 215 W. Main St., in Lexington. Food will be ready at 4:30 p.m.

The programs represented each will have an information table and will speak about what they specifically do for addicts and families.

Valerie Rust, who is active in the Starfish Project of Richland County, said she and her husband, Stan, have contacted Dan Gates from Reformers Unanimous; the HOPE meeting group from Ontario; Come To The Well counseling; Celebrate Recovery from Crossroads Church; and Teen Challenge of Greater Cleveland. They hope to connect with other programs to let the faith-based community know what services are out there and to meet people who are struggling with addiction or have a family member who is struggling.

Rust said there will be a prayer wall with someone available to pray with anyone, and people can leave names or circumstances to be distributed to all the church groups represented.

“It is our hope that many of God’s people in Richland County are doing something to address the plague of addiction. We just don’t get the word out as effectively as we could. Hopefully, this event will be held annually so that resource information can be updated and made available to anyone needing assistance,” Rust said.

“Stan and I have always envisioned a list of what is here in Richland County so we could not only refer (and pay intake fees for) addicts to Teen Challenge, but also guide them and their families to additional assistance in our community.”

Members of Richland County’s faith-based community and area law enforcement agencies in 2013 launched a nonprofit program aimed at helping people get treatment for drug addiction and other life-controlling issues.

Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon, in a letter to Richland County churches, said during his 35 years in law enforcement he has witnessed many events that were alarming and disturbing, but none that come close to the current opiate epidemic.

Starfish Program Richland County Inc. is an organization that raises money to send people to Teen Challenge, a faith-based rehabilitation program.